GRAND RAPIDS – Steve Redmond knows he doesn’t stand alone against the controversial mandate from President Barack Obama’s administration that religious organizations provide birth control as part of health plans.

On Friday, Redmond, a member of the Ottawa Patriots Tea Party, will see the results of organizing the Grand Rapids version of the national Stand Up for Religious Freedom rally at Calder Plaza.

“Faith and freedom are non-negotiable to me and many others,” Redmond said. “The erosion of our First Amendment freedoms is unacceptable and should be a basic fundamental concern regardless of political party.

“It goes to being able to practice your religion as you see fit.”

The noon event protesting the policy is one of six across the state and more than 100 throughout the country. The other simultaneous Michigan protests are in Ann Arbor, Detroit, Flint, Howell and Kalamazoo. All are slated for areas around federal courthouses, except for Howell, where attendees will gather around the county’s courthouse.

At the Grand Rapids rally, there will be up to 10 speakers talking about the affront to religious freedom. Among those slated to appear are U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Zeeland, U.S. Senate candidates Randy Hekman and Gary Glenn, and religious leaders from multiple denominations. The politicians and candidates have been asked to refrain from making the protest part of their election campaigns.

He said the rally protests the abrogation of religious freedom and freedom of conscience that was usurped when the Health and Human Service Department required employers, including religious groups that are not worship centers, to provide contraceptives, sterilization and abortion pills.

That broad reach extends to affiliated universities and colleges in addition to hospitals, drawing a rebuke from more than 100 members of Congress, who sent Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius a letter last month asking her to overturn the rule.